Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev will meet for the seventh time on Friday in the Wimbledon semifinals. While Alcaraz leads their head-to-head 4-2, Medvedev owns a 2-1 advantage in their previous Grand Slam encounters.
The pair split two Wimbledon meetings, with Medvedev winning in the 2021 second round and Alcaraz cruising through their 2023 semifinal meeting en route to his first title at the All England Club. But their most recent major meeting came last year in New York.
Their 2023 US Open semifinal clash is the only matchup between the pair that was not decided in straight sets. Medvedev was a 7-6(3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 winner in that dramatic encounter, in which he saved eight of nine break points against him.
“I said I needed to play 11 out of 10 [to win]. I played 12 out of 10, except the third set," Medvedev said after advancing to his third New York final. "That’s the only way [to beat Alcaraz]. He’s so young, already two Grand Slams, world No. 1 for many weeks, it’s honestly just pretty unbelievable and I think nobody has done it before him. So to beat him you need to be better than yourself, and I managed to do it.”
Watch highlights from the 2023 US Open semifinal between Alcaraz and Medvedev:
In addition to playing for a place in the Wimbledon final, Alcaraz and Medvedev will also be competing for superiority in the ATP rankings on Friday. The winner of the semifinal will leave London above the other, with Alcaraz's position as world No. 3 under threat. Medvedev can leapfrog both Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev for No. 3 by reaching the final, and could rise to No. 2 if he wins the title and Novak Djokovic falls to Lorenzo Musetti in the semis.
Alcaraz must beat Medvedev to avoid dropping two places to No. 5 after Wimbledon. Like Medvedev, he can only pass Djokovic for No. 2 if he wins the title and the Serbian bows out in the semis.
Looking ahead to their semifinal showdown, Alcaraz is hoping to avenge his US Open defeat to Medvedev by repeating the result from their 2023 Wimbledon showdown.
"He’s a really great player. The same semifinal as last year and hopefully I’m going to get the same result," said the Spaniard. "He just beat Jannik Sinner, the best player right now, so I know he is in really good shape. I have to play my best, I have to believe in myself and try to keep going if I want to beat him. It is going to be a difficult one, but I’m going to enjoy it."
Alcaraz has won his past two matches against Medvedev, in the group stage of the 2023 ATP Finals and in the title match this year in Indian Wells.
